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Also: How not to respond to a rejected media request, Facebook Live viewership increased 50% since January, adopting social justice initiatives, and more.

Hello, communicators:

Natalie E. Dean, assistant professor of biostatistics at the University of Florida, shared a response she received from a journalist after turning down a media request:

Do male scientists get scolded for politely declining media requests? I talked to five separate reporters today. I need to get my work done. pic.twitter.com/ydQAUUuwyK

— Natalie E. Dean, PhD (@nataliexdean) June 25, 2020

The tweet—which has racked up more than 4,600 retweets and 30,400 “likes” at time of publishing—spurred a debate about professionalism as well as subject matter experts. Though the reporter called Dean’s response “curt,” advising your organization’s experts to refer media relations requests to you and your team is a best practice for several reasons.

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